Child's Play
by HypnoticMelody
Summary: -ONE SHOT- Jayden goes to Panorama City's baseball field to reflect on the childhood he had and the loss of his father. Jayden/OC friendship. -Set after Soul of a Samurai's fourth chapter: "Super Samurai"-


**Child's Play**

**Summary-****Jayden goes back to the baseball field to reflect on the childhood he had and the loss of his father. ~Jayden/OC friendship. Set after _Soul of a Samurai's_ fourth chapter: "Super Samurai"~.**

* * *

Jayden Shiba didn't have the same childhood as, well, every other kid on the planet. While every other five year old was running around making forts out of blankets, climbing trees, and playing in mud puddles, he was training as a Samurai to save the planet, in the wake of his father's death.

He knew from a very young age that he wasn't living a normal life. He lived with the Samurai Rangers, so he wasn't always alone. He had the Pink and Yellow Rangers there to serve as mothers; helping him patch up any scrape he received from a fall, and to make him cookies or any other special dessert if he had accomplished a mile stone in his Samurai training. The Blue and Green Rangers acted like his Uncles; whenever his dad would tell decline him of something he wanted, he would immediately go to the other two Rangers.

When all the Rangers left to fight a battle, he was at home with Ji, a family friend and his mentor in the art of the Samurai life. With those influences around, he quickly understood his part in being a Ranger, and after he learned of his father's death fell into spending every waking moment training as hard as he could; learning how to be the best Ranger he could be.

Now at 19 years old, Jayden often wondered what he'd be like if he had taken the tie to learn how to be a kid as well. With the new set of Rangers around, he often found himself confused when they were talking about a certain subject he knew nothing about, because he had spent all of his time being a samurai. They never had a TV in the house until Mike arrived and complained about not having a space to play his video games, something Jayden quickly noticed calmed the Green Ranger down when he was stressing out about something.

Even though he would never admit it, he sometimes felt embarrassed about it. He had to learn how to be a team leader because of all the years he had spent alone, but he couldn't deny that he had changed since the Rangers joined him in the house. While he was mainly still his silent self, he would trade jokes here and there with Mike and Antonio, he had Kevin who was just as serious about being a Samurai if not even more, and Mia, Emily, and Melody served as what _not_ to do or say around the opposite gender, as well as helped him learn that girls really could do things just as good as or even better than boys.

With the combination of the Rangers talking about how they wished they could see their families for Christmas, Melody and Antonio actually being able to, and his Christmas gift being a photo album of himself and his dad, did Jayden come to terms that he was different from the other Rangers and he wished he had a little bit more time with his dad to just goof off and to do kid things.

Jayden let out a sigh, staring down at the photo album in his lap. There was only one picture on the page he was currently on; a picture of himself and his dad at a baseball field. Little Jayden sat on his dad's shoulders, grinning at the camera with a red and white baseball cap resting backwards on top of his head, with a matching, dirt covered red and white t-shirt, dirty blue jeans, and dirty white sneakers. His dad was holding his small baseball glove in one hand, and a baseball in the other, smiling happily.

Jayden let out a heavy sigh, closing the photo album, climbing off his bed to put it back under his mattress where he kept it hidden. He kneeled by his bed for a moment before he grabbed his shoes, sliding his feet into them and tying the laces. He then crossed the room to his dresser and pulled open the middle drawer, fishing around under his clothes until his hand landed on the object he was looking for; his baseball glove.

He grabbed his car keys and his wallet before making his way through the Shiba House, tucking his baseball glove under his arm. He spotted Antonio in the backyard at the grill, and pushed the sliding door open, leaning out, waving to get his friend's attention.

"Hey," he called to his friend.

"Hola, mi amigo," Antonio said with a grin, waving with the spatula in his hand. "Just wait until you taste this. I'm trying out a new recipe."

"Maybe later," Jayden replied with a shake of his head. "I'm going out for a while, ok?"

"Want some company?" Antonio asked as he grabbed a lemon half, squeezing it over the cooking fish. "This won't take too long to finish."

"No, that's ok," Jayden said, shifting the baseball glove under his arm. "Where is everybody?"

"Ji went to get some groceries," Antonio replied, turning away from the grill, "and everyone else went for a run." Jayden blinked in surprise and Antonio chuckled. "I think they just really want to use the Black Box."

Jayden's lips twitched as his annoyance suddenly spiked. "How are you feeling, by the way?" Jayden asked, resting his head on the doorframe, crossing his arms over his chest.

Jayden was still a little wiped out after using the Black Box. He was happy they had another source of power, but he wasn't ready for how much energy it'd take to use it. He could only imagine how hard it was for Antonio to keep working with it, especially while it was tempered with by Octaroo.

"Golden," Antonio replied with a smile. "I just needed some time to rest. What about you?"

"I'm still a little worn out, but I think I'll be ok by tomorrow," Jayden replied, giving a shrug. "I'll leave you to your cooking; I don't want it to burn." He cracked a grin. "Then again, even that'd be a step up from Mia's cooking. Don't tell Mia I said that."

"Secret's safe with me, you know that," Antonio replied, as he picked up the spatula to flip over the fish on the grill. He used his free hand to give Jayden a salute.

Jayden blinked, his eyebrows twitching. _If only he knew_, Jayden thought letting out a breath of air. "Right," he then replied, offering a quick smile. "I'll see you later." Antonio waved as Jayden turned and slid the door shut, moving to leave the Shiba House.

* * *

Jayden walked up to home plate of the local soccer field, hands shoved deep into his pockets, his baseball glove under his arm. He looked around the field, letting out a heavy sigh. He remembered the various days he had begged his dad to take him to the park so he could learn how to play. In the sun and in the rain, he would find himself out on the field practicing his batting, pitching, and sliding, all the while looking towards his dad for approval.

_First there were just a few raindrops falling and then it came pouring down around him. It felt as if he was standing under a waterfall. But he didn't care. He just stood there and stared out over the empty field. Tears, or rain, it didn't really matter all that much, ran down Jayden's cheeks as he stood on the slippery, wet bleachers at the baseball field. _

_His shoes were muddy and soaked through, but he didn't care. Nothing really cared to him except for the fact that his dad was never going to come back. He gripped the red, pentagon shaped object in his hand so hard, his small fingers started to hurt. He grit his teeth and threw it as hard as he could, watching as it bounced off the bleachers and landed in a quickly growing puddle._

_He didn't even bother to retrieve it. He lifted his soaked shirt sleeve and wiped at his eyes, sniffing. He tilted his head backwards, moving his green eyes up to peer at the gray clouds that moved overhead._ _The sun is nowhere to be found, hidden behind the overcast shadows that the clouds form. His eyes darted back and forth of the sky and his tears came faster. His dad had always told him where heaven was, but how was he supposed to know if his dad had made it there safely if the clouds were in the way?_

_"I hope you're ok, dad," Jayden muttered, his bottom lip quivering. "I can't see you, but you said you'd go to heaven one day." He lifted a hand and waved it towards the sky. "Can you see me?"_

_"Jayden! Here you are!"_

_Jayden spun around, his feet sliding as he nearly fell off the bleacher, but he caught himself and saw Ji hurrying over to him, wrapped in a coat, holding an umbrella over his head. Jayden wiped at his eyes, pressing his lips together. _

_When Ji reached his side, the questions started spilling out of his mouth: "Are you ok? I've been looking all over for you. Why aren't you wearing a coat? You could get sick. How long have you been out here?" He unzipped his coat to reveal Jayden's, dry, red coat, quickly putting it on the smaller boy, zipping it up to his chin. "I was worried about you."_

_"Sorry," Jayden replied. He slowly made his way down the bleachers, pulling his hood up over his head. He picked up the fallen, and now dirty, foldingzord, wiping as much dirt off as possible. He stared down as it unfolded into a Lion, running up his arm, stopping on his shoulder. His dad's final words echoed in his mind, "_Remember; protect the world from evil, stand by your allies, and never run from a battle."

_Jayden reached up to grab the foldingzord and it transformed back into its emblematic state, and stared down at it. He always knew that he would take over the role as Red Ranger from his dad and lead his own team, but he didn't know when it was going to happen. But, he wasn't scared. _

_"Ji," he said, looking up at his friend. "Let's go home. I have to train; I have to be the Red Ranger; just like my dad."_

"Hey, batter, batter, hey batter, batter swing." Jayden turned just in time to catch the baseball that was flying at him in his gloved hand as Melody walked over to him holding out a baseball. "Might be easier if you have this stuff."

"What are you doing here?" Jayden asked, meeting her halfway, a confused look on his face.

"Funny, I was about to ask you the same thing," she replied, tilting her head slightly. She then laughed a little bit. "Although, I bet you're not doing much without your bat and ball."

"I guess I wasn't thinking before I left," Jayden replied with a small shrug. "How'd you know I was here?"

"Intuition," Melody replied, a mysterious smile on her face. Jayden arched an eyebrow and Melody rolled her eyes. "Kev, Mia, Mike, Em, and I were out running and on our way back I saw the car here and when we got back Antonio said you were out." She used her shoulder to brush her hair out of her face.

"And during Christmas, you said how much you loved to play baseball as a kid. Putting your photo album together, I remember seeing a picture of you and your dad at a baseball field. I just put two and two together." Jayden stared at her for a moment before looking out across the baseball field. Melody held the baseball bat out towards him and asked, "So, how good are you?"

"I'm alright, I guess," Jayden replied, taking the bat from her, before shimmying his hand out of the glove, handing it and the ball to her. "I haven't played since I started training."

"So your dad taught you, then?" Melody asked, tossing the ball into the air with her free hand, catching it with her gloved hand. She then turned on her heels and made her way to the pitcher's mound.

"Yeah," Jayden replied with a nod as he moved to stand over home plate, tightly gripping the bat in his hand. "Do you…play?"

"Ahhh, well that depends on your definition of 'play'," Melody replied, raising her eyebrows as she turned to face him. "I was on the Angel Grove High's baseball team, but I wasn't any good at batting. I swear, I only got on the team because in the rare chance I actually _hit_ the ball, I was fast, I can throw, I can catch, and I'm not afraid to dive. My friend, Tanya, taught me how to pitch, though. I'm not that great at_ that_ either."

Jayden watched as she tightly gripped the ball in her hand, brought up her left leg before throwing the ball at him as hard as she could. Jayden's eyes widened slightly as he took a step back from the plate as the ball whizzed past him, hitting the chain fence with a loud crash. He grabbed the ball and threw it back at her, his jaw dropped.

"Are you cheating?" he asked after a moment of silence, watching as Melody easily moved her arm to catch the ball in his glove.

"Kinda," Melody replied with a grin. "Come on, Mr. Fire Power, I thought you could handle anything anybody threw at you." She started to throw the ball into the air, over and over again.

"Do you give everybody nicknames?" Jayden asked, his eyebrows knitting together.

"Only to my friends," she replied, giving her famous one-shouldered shrug, still grinning. "It's part of my charm."

Jayden lips twitched into a fleeting smile, but didn't say anything else. He didn't know what it was about the Purple Ranger, but he found that it was, surprisingly, easy to talk to her. Even at a time like this when he wanted to be by himself, he wasn't all that bothered that she was there.

He lifted the bat, gripping it tightly in his hands; lifting it high off the ground and over his shoulder, waiting for Melody to throw him the ball. Melody let out a small grunt of effort as she threw the ball towards him. Jayden pressed his lips tightly together as he swung the bat, making a loud _clang _as the ball connected with the metal object.

He watched as the ball flew over the field. Melody quickly ducked as the ball shot towards her head and she turned to watch the ball bounce a few times before it rolled to a stop near the back fence.

"Nice shot, Jay!" Melody said as she turned to go after the ball.

"Thanks," Jayden replied. He couldn't help but smile as he lowered the bat to the ground, but his smile quickly faded as he looked down at his feet.

_Jayden's stomach twisted in knots as he slowly lifted his baseball bat over his shoulder. His dad gave him a reassuring smile from the pitcher's mound, calling over to him to not be nervous and to keep his eye on the ball. He threw the ball once and Jayden swung as hard as he could, but he missed the ball, hearing it bounce on the ground behind him. He jogged after the red and white ball, throwing it back to his dad._

_"Bring your elbows up a little more," his dad suggested, miming the movement. Jayden did as he was told, feeling a little weird as he did so. His dad made a comment about him looking like a bird, flapping his wings and Jayden laughed, moving his arms up and down. "What kind of bird are you?"_

_"A hawk," Jayden promptly called back._

_"A hawk?" his dad asked, tossing the ball into the air over and over again before crossing his arms over his chest. "Now, that's a nice bird; strikes fear into its enemies eyes."_

_"Just like how I'll scare the Nighloks," Jayden replied with a laugh. "They won't want to come near me."_

_"That's my boy; a true Red Ranger, you're not scared of anything." Jayden's dad's smile faded as he prepared to pitch the ball again. Jayden tensed, shifting his feet, kicking up a small cloud of dirt. The ball was thrown._

_Jayden licked his lips and swung as hard as he possibly could, striking the ball with a loud crack. He watched as the ball soared high into the air, spinning and twisting in the air straight over center field. His jaw dropped as he watched the ball sail over the fence, bouncing twice on the grass on the other side of the field._

_"Home run!" Jayden yelled, tossing his bat aside. "I got a home run."_

"Run around the bases, Jay."

_Jayden grinned as he ran from first base, to second, and to third as fast as his legs could carry him. His dad met him at home plate as he slid over the base. Jayden jumped to his feet, punching the air with his fists before he gave his dad a big hug, grinning from ear to ear._

_"Nice slide, son."_

"You know," Melody said, snapping Jayden out of his thoughts as she walked over to him, "I've been calling your name." She tilted her head to the side, peering at him. "My friends have always said I'm a good listener." Jayden arched an eyebrow and Melody did a quick roll of her blue orbs. "I know what you're thinking; you're thinking 'how could this girl be a good listener, if all she does is talk, talk, talk?'"

"I am not a big talker," Jayden finally spoke up.

"Oh, really?" Melody asked, feigning surprise "could've fooled me." She gave him a teasing grin. "You're pretty good. Ever think of playing if you weren't brought up as a Samurai?"

"No point in thinking about it, really," Jayden replied with a shrug and a shake of his head.

"It's a shame really," Melody replied with a click of her tongue. Jayden gave her a confused look. "Baseball helps you with grip strength and exerting power when you swing your sword." She then nodded at his arm. "Or are you worried about your wrist? If it's still hurting, you should get it checked out." Jayden continued to stare at her and she crossed her arms over her chest.

"For my senior project, I did an experiment to see if other sports helped you with martial arts," Melody explained to him. "I mainly focused on whether or not soccer helped your kicks get stronger over time." Jayden slowly nodded. "It also helps you stay light on your feet and change directions quickly, which is a plus for my years of studying ninjitsu."

"And Mike's skateboarding?" Jayden asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Besides, giving him strength in his leg?" Melody asked, raising her eyebrows. "It helps him learn how to shift his body weight, and contort his body to maneuver around objects or attacks." She pulled the baseball glove off her hand. "You'll get your strength in your wrist back if you double up on sword training and baseball, plus it's a good way for you to really come to terms with your dad's passing."

"What, are you reading my mind now?"Jayden asked, peering at her out of the corner of his eye.

"Maybe," Melody replied with a slow forming smile, her eyes flashing for a brief second. "Like I said, I'm a good listener, and I know what it's like living without a parent. " She stopped for a minute to think and then said, the laughter gone from her face, "Actually both; since we both lost our moms."

She then shook her head, putting the smile back on. "You know how to play soccer?"

"Uh, no," Jayden replied.

"Good," Melody replied simply, "I'm going to teach you; and you could use the help, my kicks are so much better than yours." She then put out her hand, "Easy trade off; you help me with sword technique and I'll help you with hand to hand combat."

Jayden peered at her for a moment. With how long she has been in the house, he's found that she was good at finding loop holes in just about everything, she was sarcastic 90% of the time, and she was stubborn. But he also found that she was a skilled fighter, a hard worker, vibrant, unpredictable (in a good way), a breath of fresh air, entertaining, funny, he could go on.

Jayden's lips slowly turned up in the corners as he slid his hand into hers, giving it a firm shake before he quickly let go.

"Deal."

* * *

**A/N: **This was originally going to be a chapter in _Soul of a Samurai_, but I couldn't really think of a way to expand it into a full chapter with a made up Nighlok and everything. But, this is important for later chapters of Soul of a Samurai.

**~MysticMelody101~**


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